Social Virtual Dialysis Clinic

ABSTRACT

A social virtual dialysis clinic is provided that simulates social community aspects of a clinic group environment for patients undergoing a medical treatment away from a clinic. The described social virtual dialysis clinic system provides for integrated display devices for medical treatment information functionality, such as for dialysis treatment, with social interaction capabilities among multiple remotely-located patients while the patients are undergoing medical treatments at home or while traveling. Scheduling of the patients as participants in the social virtual dialysis clinic may be performed by a remote computer that receives transmitted information from each of the medical treatment machines performing medical treatments, respectively, on the patients.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional App. 62/190,825,filed Jul. 10, 2015, entitled “Social Virtual Dialysis Clinic,” which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of virtualized environments andmedical treatments.

BACKGROUND

Dialysis is a medical treatment used to support a patient withinsufficient renal function. The two principal dialysis methods arehemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

During hemodialysis (HD), a patient's blood is passed through a dialyzerof a dialysis machine while also passing a dialysis solution ordialysate through the dialyzer. A permeable membrane in the dialyzerseparates the blood from the dialysate within the dialyzer and allowsdiffusion and osmosis exchanges to take place between the dialysate andthe blood stream. These exchanges across the membrane result in theremoval of waste products, including solutes like urea and creatinine,from the blood. These exchanges also regulate the levels of othersubstances, such as sodium and water, in the blood. In this way, thedialysis machine acts as an artificial kidney for cleansing the blood.An HD treatment typically lasts a few hours and may be performedmultiple times a week on the patient.

During peritoneal dialysis (PD), a patient's peritoneal cavity isperiodically infused with sterile aqueous solution, referred to as PDsolution or dialysate. The membranous lining of the patient's peritoneumacts as a natural permeable membrane that allows diffusion and osmosisexchanges to take place between the solution and the blood stream. Theseexchanges across the patient's peritoneum result in the removal of wasteproducts, including solutes like urea and creatinine, from the blood,and regulate the levels of other substances, such as sodium and water,in the blood.

Hemodialysis treatments are typically performed on a patient multipletimes a week using an HD machine in a clinic or home environment witheach treatment lasting a least a few hours. Peritoneal dialysistreatments are done several times a day on a patient, often at home andoften performed overnight while a patient is asleep using an automatedPD machine or cycler. Dialysis machines are typically equipped withinterfaces for receiving inputs and providing information to usersduring treatments.

Home dialysis gives the freedom to lead a more normal work and sociallife, and according to some research, may offer better health outcomes.Home dialysis machines exist that are configured for performing HD or PDtreatments at home and/or otherwise remote from a clinic. However, evenwith the availability of home dialysis treatments, the in-center orclinic setting is popular with patients because of the community feelingand support structure provided by nurses, patient care technicians andother patients all experiencing the same environment.

Social media, a term given to widely-available Internet-based platformsthat facilitate information sharing of user-generated content, such associal networking sites, media-sharing sites, blogs, microblogs andwikis, have transformed the way society communicates. Through communitybuilding, message amplification, rapid dissemination and on-lineengagement, social media has changed societal interactions andrelationships. Health care is one field that continues to experienceadvantageous ramifications from the proliferation of social media andother Internet-based communication platforms.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system that enablessimulated in-center social aspects of community and support for apatient while that patient is receiving treatment at home or otherwiseremote from a clinic.

SUMMARY

A social virtual dialysis clinic may simulate and facilitate socialaspects of a clinic group environment for patients undergoing a medicaltreatment away from a clinic. The social virtual dialysis clinic systemdescribed herein provides for integrated medical treatment informationfunctionality, such as a dialysis treatment, with social media/communitycapabilities for a simulated social in-clinic environment while patientsare undergoing medical treatments at home or while traveling.

According to the system described herein, a device is provided forperforming medical treatments and simulating social aspects of a medicalclinic environment. The device includes a medical treatment machineconfigured to perform a medical treatment. A medical treatmentinformation display displays medical treatment information of themedical treatment performed by the medical treatment machine. A socialinteraction information display displays social interaction informationof multiple users. The medical treatment information display and thesocial interaction information display are integrated into aninteractive display device that interfaces with a remote computer toexchange information with the remote computer. A characteristic of themedical treatment being performed by the medical treatment machine istransmitted to the remote computer and is used in scheduling multipleparticipants for remote social interaction using the interactive displaydevice while the medical treatment machine performs the medicaltreatment. The scheduling may be performed automatically by the remotecomputer according to a commonality in the characteristic of the medicaltreatment among each of the multiple participants.

In various embodiments, the interactive display device wirelesslyexchanges information with the remote computer, for example, eitherdirectly with the remote computer or via an intermediary device, and inwhich the intermediary device may be a transceiver device of the medicaltreatment machine. The interactive display device may be incorporatedinto the medical treatment machine or may be remote from the medicaltreatment machine. The interactive display device may be a portableprocessing device carried or worn by a user that displays information tothe user and receives input from the user. The medical treatment machinemay be a dialysis machine, and the characteristic of the medicaltreatment may include a treatment type, a treatment length, a frequencyof treatment and/or a time of day of treatment.

According further to the system described herein, a social virtualdialysis clinic system includes a first medical treatment machine thatis configured to perform a first medical treatment on a first user and asecond medical treatment machine, remote from the first medicaltreatment machine, that is configured to perform a second medicaltreatment on a second user. A first medical treatment informationdisplay, coupled to the first medical treatment machine, displaysmedical treatment information of the first medical treatment machine. Afirst social interaction information display, coupled to the firstmedical treatment machine, displays social interaction information ofthe first user and the second user. The first medical treatmentinformation display and the first social interaction information displayare integrated into a first interactive display device that interfaceswith a remote computer to exchange information with the remote computer.A second medical treatment information display, coupled to the secondmedical treatment machine, displays medical treatment information of thesecond medical treatment machine. A second social interactioninformation display, coupled to the second medical treatment machine,displays social interaction information of the first user and the seconduser, wherein the second medical treatment information display and thesecond social interaction information display are integrated into asecond interactive display device that interfaces with the remotecomputer to exchange information with the remote computer.

In various embodiments, a first characteristic of the first medicaltreatment being performed by the first medical treatment machine istransmitted to the remote computer, and a second characteristic of thesecond medical treatment being performed by the second medical treatmentmachine is transmitted to the remote computer. The first characteristicand the second characteristic are used in scheduling participants forremote social interaction using the first interactive display device andthe second interactive display device while the first and second medicaltreatment machines perform the first and second medical treatments. Thefirst and/or the second interactive display devices wirelessly exchangeinformation directly with the remote computer and/or wirelessly exchangeinformation with the remote computer via an intermediary device that maybe a transceiver device of at least one of the medical treatmentmachines. At least one of the first and the second interactive displaydevices may be incorporated into a corresponding one of the first or thesecond medical treatment machines and/or may be remote from acorresponding one of at least one of the first and the second medicaltreatment machines. At least one of the first or the second interactivedisplay devices may be a portable processing device carried or worn by auser that displays information to the user and receives input from theuser. At least one of the first or the second medical treatment machinesmay be a dialysis machine and the first characteristic and/or the secondcharacteristic may include a treatment type, a treatment length, afrequency of treatment and/or a time of day of treatment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the system described herein are explained with referenceto the several figures of the drawings, which are briefly described asfollows.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing an example of a dialysissystem having social virtual dialysis clinic features in accordance withan embodiment of the system described herein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration showing an integrated display ofsocial media/community interaction functionality with medical treatmentinformation on a device accessible to a user according to an embodimentof the system described herein

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration showing a dialysis system having adisplay remote from dialysis machine, in which the remote display isbeing held or operated by a user according to an embodiment of thesystem described herein.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a wearable interface device thatmay be used in accordance with an embodiment of the system describedherein.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic illustrations showing a system of two (ormore) remotely located dialysis machines that are performing dialysistreatments and are scheduling/accessing information via wirelesscoupling to a remote computer to link dialysis patients together inreal-time in a virtual clinic community environment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram detailing processing for a social virtualdialysis clinic according to an embodiment of the system describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

According to the system described herein, technologies behind existingsocial media platforms, sites or gaming forums, along with still photos,web cameras and/or microphones/speakers, may be used to facilitateremote interaction among home dialysis users or patients to give them asimulated or “virtual” clinic feel during home treatments. Each homeuser or patient may choose to join a virtual clinic group of other userssimilarly undergoing dialysis treatment at home, away from a clinicand/or with clinic patients who are participating in the virtualdialysis clinic environment. No matter the time of day or day of theweek, users may employ a world-wide network to identify folks undergoingtreatment. Groups may be private (e.g. registration/subscription basedgroups) or public (e.g. public chat rooms/message boards). Patients maybe identified or anonymous. User names, profiles and/or any sensitivemedical information used in scheduling according to the system describedherein may be controlled in accordance with appropriate law, policiesand procedures (e.g. HIPPA) for protecting medical and/or othersensitive information. Users may create their own recurring groups ofthe same people, or “smart” software can be used to identify people togroup together based on time of day or frequency of dialysis treatments.Information used to form the groups may be obtained from a remote and/orcentral server that receives and stores information from at-hometreatments.

In an embodiment of the system described herein, a device is providedthat integrates dialysis treatment information display and social mediadisplay functionality in real-time and utilizing a captive audience of aknown group of patients. The displays of the treatment information andsocial media functionality may be integrated onto a display of thedialysis machine. The dialysis machine may communicate with a remoteand/or central server via a network to access and/or provide informationof patients undergoing at-home treatments. Alternatively, the displaysof information may be integrated and displayed on a portable processingdevice, such as a tablet, smartphone and/or other processing unit of thepatient. In various embodiments, the portable processing device may becommunicatively coupled to the dialysis machine via a short rangecommunication technology, such as Bluetooth, a WiFi based communicationtechnology, and/or a near field communication (NFC) technology.

FIG. 1 shows a dialysis system having social dialysis clinic featuresand functionality in accordance with an embodiment of the systemdescribed herein. The dialysis system 100 includes a dialysis machine110 with one or more dialysis components 115 for performing a dialysistreatment. In an embodiment, the dialysis system 100 may be ahemodialysis system and the dialysis machine 110 may be a hemodialysismachine. The hemodialysis system may be a home or portable hemodialysissystem for performing hemodialysis at home and/or otherwise remote froma clinic. The dialysis machine 110 includes a display 120 that may be atouchscreen display and/or may have other display control or interfacecomponents, including non-contact interfacing components. Although ahemodialysis system, particularly a portable or home hemodialysissystem, is principally discussed herein, it is noted that the systemdescribed herein may be used in connection with other types of dialysissystems, including peritoneal dialysis systems, and/or other types ofmedical devices or machines performing a medical treatment (e.g.chemotherapy) at home and/or otherwise remote from a clinic.

The dialysis machine 110 includes a control unit 130 (e.g. a processor)and one or more interface components 141, 142. The interface components141, 142 may include user interface components that may enable a user toactivate and/or otherwise engage with the social interactionfunctionality of the social virtual dialysis clinic, as discussed infurther detail elsewhere herein. The interface components 141, 142 maybe configured such that the user engages with the social interactioncapabilities of the system described herein using the components 141,142 during performance of a medical treatment by the dialysis machine110. In an embodiment, the interface components 141, 142 may include acamera unit 141 that provides for real time image/video interaction ofthe user with other users in the social virtual dialysis clinic and amicrophone/speaker 142 that enables real time audio interaction of theuser with other users in the social virtual dialysis clinic. Informationof the social interaction may be displayed on the display 120 in amanner that does not interfere with display of information concerningthe dialysis treatment being performed by the dialysis machine 110.Other interaction devices and/or sensors may be used in connection withthe interface components 141, 142. The control unit 140 can receivesignals from, and transmit signals to, the display 120, the interfacecomponents 141, 142, and/or other components of the dialysis system 100.

The dialysis machine 110 may also include a data storage and/ortransmission component 150 that may be coupled to the control unit 140and that may enable the storage of data on the dialysis machine and/orthe transmission of data to and from the dialysis machine 110 inconnection with the social virtual dialysis clinic features discussedherein. The data storage and/or transmission component may be coupled toone more wireless antennas 161, 162 and/or other wireless signal devicesthat enable receiving and transmitting wireless signals. In someembodiments, the one or more wireless antennas 161, 162 may representantennas for different modalities of wireless communication, forexample, an antenna 161 for short range wireless communications and anantenna 162 for telecommunication network communications, among otherpossibilities. In other embodiments, the wireless communicationmodalities of the system described herein may be performed using onlyone antenna. In various implementations, the data may includeprescription information, treatment data and/or other therapy-based dataand/or may include authorization information and/or other userprofile-based information.

The components for wireless data transmission, such as components 150,161, 162, may include components for short range wireless transmissiontechnologies, such as Bluetooth or NFC technologies, components forcommunication with one or more peripheral devices including use of aWiFi network, and/or network transmission components for transmittingand receiving data or other signals wirelessly via a telecommunicationsnetwork and/or the Internet using one or more computers. In connectionwith storage or transmission, data may be secured and/or encrypted viathe control unit 130 using appropriate security and encryption protocolsaccording to applicable laws and regulations governing storage ortransmission of sensitive data and/or protected medical information. Inparticular, the data user in the scheduling and coordination of theusers of the virtual dialysis clinic environment may be appropriatelysafeguarded in connection with appropriate standards.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration showing an integrated informationdisplay of social interaction information/functionality with medicaltreatment information on a display accessible to a user. In anembodiment, as illustrated, the integrated information displays fordialysis treatment information 121 and social interaction information122 may be presented on the display 120 of the dialysis machine 110 thatis described elsewhere herein. In the illustrated example, the dialysistreatment information 121 is presented in the middle of the display 120and the social interaction information 122, that may include images(e.g. still photos or video) representing the local user (e.g. apatient) and remote users (e.g. other patients) as well as text basedinteraction capabilities, is shown around the periphery of the display120. Other information layouts may be used as desirable and appropriatein specific contexts. In an embodiment, the layout of the dialysistreatment information and the social interaction information enables thelocal user to participate in the social interaction with other remoteusers in a manner that also facilitates appropriate visual monitoring ofthe dialysis treatment information by the local user undergoing thedialysis treatment due to the proximal positioning of the dialysistreatment information and the social interaction information on thesingle display 120.

In this embodiment, the social media functionality and componentsthereof are integrated with the dialysis machine, enabling one device toperform the medical treatment and facilitate the social interactions ofthe virtual clinic environment between a local user of the dialysismachine and other users/patients located remotely from the local user.It is noted that the users are primarily described as patients, but mayalso include medical personnel, such as doctor, nurses and/or otherpatient care technicians. In an aspect, integration of the socialinteraction information display and the medical treatment informationdisplay onto a single interactive display may advantageously enable thelocal patient to participate in the social interaction with other remotepatients in a manner that also facilitates appropriate visual monitoringof medical treatment information by the local patient undergoing themedical treatment due to the proximal positioning of the medicaltreatment information and the social interaction information on thesingle display.

Additionally and/or alternatively, in another embodiment, theinformation displays of the social interaction information and medicaltreatment information may be integrated and displayed on a portableprocessing device, such as a tablet, smartphone and/or other processingunit of the patient. In various embodiments, the portable processingdevice may be coupled to the dialysis machine via a short rangecommunication technology, such as Bluetooth and/or NFC technology. Thelocal user may hold the portable processing device and participate inthe virtual clinic environment provided by the social interactionfunctionality on the remote display while still being kept of apprisedof the dialysis treatment information that may also be shown on theremote display held by the local user. As further discussed elsewhereherein, the layout of the medical treatment information and the socialinteraction information on the interactive display of the portableprocessing unit may enable the local user to participate in the socialinteraction with other remote users in a manner that also facilitatesappropriate visual monitoring of the medical treatment information bythe local user undergoing the medical treatment due to the proximalpositioning of the medical treatment information and the socialinteraction information on the interactive display.

In various implementations, the medical treatment information displayedmay be information corresponding to that of a dialysis treatment beingperformed on a patient and include information suitable for display to apatient in a home dialysis setting. Other information of the dialysistreatment may be stored and transmitted to and/or accessible by aclinician or other health care practitioner according to appropriatetransmission mechanisms and protocols, including wireless transmissionof data to a remote computer. For further discussion of exampleimplementations for remote control of, and data display on ortransmission to/from, a dialysis machine, reference is made to U.S. Pat.No. 8,769,625 B2 to Wang et al., entitled “Remote Control of DialysisMachines,” which is incorporated herein by reference. The socialinteraction information displayed may include information exchangeenabled by social media based platforms, including text, pictures, audioand/or video exchanges, as further discussed elsewhere herein, and thatmay be facilitated using a remote server or computer that schedules andhosts one or more instances of the social virtual dialysis clinic amongparticipants.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration showing a dialysis system 200 havinga remote display 225 remote from dialysis machine 210, in which theremote display 225 is being held or operated by a user. The remotedisplay 225 may be a hand-held computing device, such as a smartphone,tablet or other portable processing and display device. In otherembodiments, as further discussed elsewhere herein, the remote display225 may be a wearable device that is worn and operated by the user. Theremote display 225 provides an integrated information display of socialinteraction information/functionality in connection with performance ofa medical treatment. The remote display 225 may include integratedinterfacing components such as a microphone and/or a camera that mayenable a user to engage in real-time with the social interactionfunctionality of the virtual dialysis clinic according to the systemdescribed herein. Alternatively, one or more other separate interfacingcomponents 226, e.g. a separate microphone/speaker and/or camera unit,may be included that may have a wired and/or wireless connection to theremote display 225 to enable the real-time engagement with the socialinteraction functionality of the system. The remote display 225 may bein communicative contact with the dialysis machine 210 via a wiredand/or wireless connection. In the illustration, a wireless connectionbetween the remote display 225 and the dialysis machine 210 is shownand, in an embodiment, the wireless connection may be a short rangewireless connection, e.g., Bluetooth and/or NFC. In the figure,components of the dialysis system 200 that are similar to the componentsshown and described in connection with the dialysis system 100correspond to that of the dialysis system 100 but are instead prefacedwith the numeral “2”.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a wearable interface device 301that may be used in accordance with an embodiment of the systemdescribed herein. The wearable interface device 301 may be animplementation of the remote display 225 described in connection withFIG. 3. As discussed elsewhere herein, the remote display 225 may alsoinclude handheld devices, such as tablets and/or smartphones among othertypes of portable computing devices. The wearable interface device 301may be worn by the user in connection with remotely monitoring adialysis machine or component during a dialysis treatment and inconnection with engaging in the social interaction functionality of thevirtual dialysis clinic, as further discussed in detail elsewhereherein. The wearable interface device 301 is principally shown anddescribed herein in connection with an implementation as a head-mounteddevice, such as smartglasses. However, other wearable displayimplementation may be used in connection with the system describedherein, including other types of head-mounted displays and/or othertypes of wearable computing devices, such as a wrist watch-styleimplementation, e.g. a smartwatch.

The wearable interface device 301 may include two sides with screens305, 310 that may be used and function independently of each other. Forexample, in an embodiment, the screen 305 may be clear to enable a userto perform duties remote from the dialysis machine and unobstructed byany visual display during use of the wearable interface device 301, andthe screen 310 may display information 311 used in connection withmonitoring and/or controlling the dialysis machine 210 or componentthereof. Alternatively, for example, the screen 305 may include a symbol306 that indicates an alert and is presented in a manner that does notobstruct a view through the wearable interface device 301. In otherembodiments, different types of information sent to, or generated by,the wearable interface device 301 may be displayed on either of thescreens 305, 310 and, when not in use, both of the sides may betransparent, for example.

In an embodiment, the wearable interface device 301 may becommunicatively paired with the dialysis machine 210. The wearableinterface device 301 may receive certain information wirelesslytransmitted from the dialysis machine 210 in connection with pairing orauthenticating the wearable interface device 301 with the dialysismachine 210 and/or in connection with acknowledging signals sent by thewearable interface device 301 to the dialysis machine 210. In anembodiment, the symbol 306 on the screen 305 may indicate a successfulpairing of the wearable interface device 301 with the dialysis machine210.

In an embodiment, the information 311 may be a screen similar to thatbeing displayed on the display 220 of the dialysis machine 210 and/ormay present other information in connection with the dialysis treatmentand/or other functions performed by the dialysis machine 210, as furtherdiscussed in detail elsewhere herein. In various other embodiments, theinformation 311 displayed on the wearable interface device 301 mayinclude an alert when an alarm of the dialysis machine 210 is triggered.Other types of information may also be displayed.

In an embodiment, in connection with the information 311 displayed onthe wearable interface device 301, the wearable interface device 301 mayreceive information wirelessly transmitted by the dialysis machine 210.The wearable interface device 301 may include a transceiver device 320that receives and/or transmits signals according to the functionalitydiscussed herein. The transceiver device 320 may include one or moreprocessors to process the signals in connection with the display of theinformation 311 and in connection with the transmission of informationconcerning the dialysis treatment being performed by the dialysismachine 210. The transceiver device 320 may further include a memory,and/or other non-transitory computer-readable medium, to store data inconnection with the information transmitted and/or received by thewearable interface device 301 and in connection with the execution ofsoftware or other executable code in connection with the operations ofthe wearable interface device 301 both in connection with the dialysistreatment being performed and the social interaction functionality ofthe virtual dialysis clinic.

For example, the wearable interface device 301 may include a commandrecognition device 330 that recognizes and interprets commands inconnection with operation of the wearable interface device 301,specifically in connection with selection, control and activation ofelements on the screens 305, 310 of the wearable interface device 301.In various embodiments, the commands may be gestures recognized and usedby a gesture-recognition module of the command recognition device 330 inconnection with the operation of the wearable interface device 301. Thegestures may include, for example, hand gestures, head gestures and/oreye gestures of the user. In other embodiments, the command recognitiondevice 330 may include a voice recognition module that enablesvoice-based operation of the wearable interface device 301. The commandrecognition capability enables hands-free, non-contact operation of thewearable interface device and remote monitoring of the dialysis machineaccording to the system described herein.

The wearable interface device 301 may further include a camera 340 thatmay be used in connection with capturing images that may be displayedand/or used by the interface device 301, as further discussed in detailelsewhere herein. In various embodiments, the camera 340 may alsoinclude video capabilities. It is noted that although the devices 320,330 and 340 are shown as separate devices, in other embodiments, thefunctionalities of these devices may be incorporate into one integraldevice disposed on the interface device 301. It is also noted that thedevices 320, 330 and/or 340 may be detachable and communicationallycoupled (e.g. wirelessly) and/or otherwise portable or manipulable toenable the user to position the devices in a desired location forappropriate functionality. Further, the interface device 301 may includea power source 350, such as a battery.

The wearable interface device 301 may further include an audioinput/output device 360 that may include a speaker and/or a microphone.The audio device 360 may enable the user to hear and provide audiblesignals such that an intercom-type verbal exchange may be enabledbetween the user wearing the interface device 301 and otherusers/patients of the virtual dialysis clinic. In various embodiments,the audio device 360 may also operate in connection with voice commandrecognition capability of the command recognition device 330, as furtherdiscussed elsewhere herein. It is also noted that the processing of thewearable interface device 301 may enable the interface device torecognize a verbal communication from the patient that is then convertedinto text and displayed on one or more of the screens 305, 310. Inconnection therewith, the processing of the interface device 301 mayenable translation capabilities. For example, a patient may make averbal communication at the dialysis system 200 (and/or other remotedialysis system) in one language (such as Spanish) and the verbalcommunication is converted into text and then translated into anotherlanguage (such as English) via processing capabilities of the wearableinterface device 301 and the translated text displayed on one or more ofthe screens 305, 310 of the wearable interface device 301.

For further discussion and examples of a wearable interface devicehaving aspects that may be used in connection with the system describedherein, reference is made to US 2014/0266983 A1 to Christensen, entitled“Wearable Interface for Remote Monitoring and Control of a MedicalDevice,” which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic illustrations showing a virtual dialysisclinic system 400 of two or more remotely located dialysis systems thatare performing dialysis treatments. The virtual dialysis clinic system400 is principally discussed in connection with two dialysis systems410, 420 but may also be expanded to one or more other dialysis systems430. The virtual dialysis clinic system 400 provides for accessinginformation for each of the dialysis systems 410, 420 by a coupling viaa network 440 to a remote computer 450 (e.g. processing device havingone or more processors, a server and/or database) to link dialysispatients 401, 402 together in real-time in a virtual clinic communityenvironment. The remote computer 450 may store information obtained fromthe dialysis systems 410, 420 in connection with scheduling of theparticipants for the social virtual dialysis clinic. Specifically, theaccessed information may be accessed and used by the remote computer inscheduling one or more virtual dialysis clinics among participantssharing a commonality of at least one treatment characteristic orparameter, such as treatment type, treatment length, treatmentfrequencies, time of day of treatment, and/or other treatmentcharacteristics that would be suitable as a basis for scheduling themembers of the social virtual dialysis clinic. For example, thescheduling of the participants may be based on patients undergoingdialysis at the same time (i.e. time of day) for a similar length oftime.

The remote computer 450 may perform the processing to schedule and/orhost one or more instances of the social virtual dialysis clinic amongparticipants and may use social platform interaction functionality. Theremote computer 450 may establish communication links over a networkwith each of the dialysis systems 410, 420 to provide the socialinteraction functionality that may include streaming of real-time socialinteractions among the participants of the social virtual dialysisclinic. In various embodiments, the coupling between the dialysissystems 410, 420 and the remote computer 450 may be via a wired and/or awireless connection and may involve telecommunication networktransmissions, including transmissions via the Internet and/orshort-range wireless communication networks, in appropriatecircumstances.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the system described herein enables using dialysistreatment information (e.g. treatment types, lengths, frequencies,time(s) of day of treatments), stored by and/or sent by the dialysissystems 410, 420 via the network 440 to the remote computer 450, inconnection with scheduling or coordinating of the members of the socialvirtual clinic community. In the illustrated example, remotely locatedusers, user A 401 and user B 402, are underdoing dialysis treatments viadialysis machines 411, 412, respectively. The users 401, 402 may engagein the social virtual dialysis clinic environment via remote interfaces421, 422. In various implementations, the remote interfaces 421, 422 maybe interactive interface devices implemented as wearable interfacedevices 421 a, 422 a, and/or, in other embodiments, the remoteinterfaces may be implemented as portable computing devices, such astablets, smartphones and/or laptop computers 421 b, 422 b, and beimplementations of the devices 225/226 discussed in connection with FIG.2. It is further noted that in yet other embodiments according to thesystem described herein, rather than using remote interfaces, one ormore users may engage in the social virtual dialysis clinic environmentusing integrated displays incorporated directly into the dialysismachines like that of the system discussed in connection with FIG. 1.

FIG. 5B schematically illustrates information displayed for the users A401, B 402 of the dialysis systems—labeled dialysis system A 410 anddialysis system B 420. The information is displayed on respectivedisplays of the remote interfaces A and B of the user A 401 and user B402. As shown, on the remote interface A 421, displayed for user A 401is a dialysis treatment screen with treatment information for thedialysis treatment being performed on user A 401 by the dialysis machineA 411 of the dialysis system A 410. Also displayed on the remoteinterface A 421 of user A 401 is social interaction information of thevirtual dialysis clinic according to the system described herein. Thesocial interaction information may include a picture, a representationand/or live video of user A that is displayed on the remote interface A421. The social interaction information may then further includeinformation of other users, including, for example, social interactioninformation of user B 402 that enables the user A to engage with user Band/or the other users of the virtual dialysis clinic while both theuser A and the user B are undergoing medical treatments with theirrespective dialysis systems A 410 and B 420.

Similarly, as shown on remote interface B 422, displayed for user B 402is a dialysis treatment screen with treatment information for thedialysis treatment being performed on user B 402 by the dialysis machineB 412 of the dialysis system B 420. Also displayed on the remoteinterface B 422 of user B 402 is social interaction information of thevirtual dialysis clinic according to the system described herein. Thesocial interaction information may include a picture, a representationand/or live video of user B that is displayed on the remote interface B422. The social interaction information may then further includeinformation of other users, including, for example, social interactioninformation of user A 401 that enables the user B to engage with user Aand/or the other users of the virtual dialysis clinic while both theuser A 401 and the user B 402 are undergoing medical treatments withtheir respective dialysis systems A 410 and B 420. The socialinteraction information may further include text based interactions.

In various embodiments, the representations of users on the displays maybe real time images based on camera images or video and/or may bedisplayed representations of users using avatars or otherrepresentational pictures. Social interaction of the virtual dialysisclinic using the interfaces discussed herein may be implemented usingsocial media platforms and functionalities, including text, audio/verbaland/or video based messaging or chat room technologies, as well asinteractive gaming functionalities and features.

In another embodiment, a method of providing dialysis treatment isprovided that includes providing a platform by which to interactvirtually with other dialysis patients undergoing treatment at the sametime. The method further includes performing a medical treatment onthose patients at a location remote from other dialysis patients, butpreserving sense of community and support structure, often cited as abenefit of clinic dialysis groups, via the social interactionfunctionalities of the virtual dialysis clinic environment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram 500 showing processing for a social virtualdialysis clinic according to an embodiment of the system describedherein. At a step 502, an interface device of the social virtualdialysis clinic of the system described herein may be activated, forexample, by a user. In various embodiments, the activations process mayinclude logging into the virtual dialysis clinic environment usingappropriate security protocols and may include agreement acknowledgmentby the user to enter the social virtual dialysis clinic environment.After the step 502, at a step 504 a connection is established from thedialysis system (e.g. dialysis system 100, 200), including socialvirtual interface device of the system described herein, to a remotecomputer (e.g. processing device, server and/or database) thatfacilitates participation and scheduling of the social virtual dialysisclinic. The connection may include one or more wired and/or wirelesschannels from the dialysis system to the remote computer that enable adata transfer or exchange between the dialysis system and the remotecomputer.

After the step 504, at a step 506 an instance of the social virtualdialysis clinic environment is established according to the systemdescribed herein. The instance may be established according to a socialvirtual platform technology for enabling a virtual gathering ofparticipants in the virtual environment. Social virtual platformtechnologies include social media based text platforms, picture/photoexchanging platforms and/or real time audio or video exchanges. Othertypes of social virtual platform technologies that may be used includegaming and/or chat room based platforms. The social virtual platformsmay be public and/or private and utilize scheduling functions accordingto the system described herein.

After the step 506, at a step 508, participants of a social virtualdialysis clinic may be scheduled according to information exchanged bythe dialysis system and the remote computer. As further discussedelsewhere herein, scheduling of the social virtual dialysis clinic maybe performed based on specific information corresponding to dialysistreatments of the participants, such as commonalities among participantsof treatment types, times, frequencies, and/or durations, among otherappropriate treatment characteristics. A centralized remote computer maymaintain information on the treatments of multiple users using multipledialysis systems, and that stored information may be used in thescheduling of the social virtual dialysis clinics among subscribingparticipants.

After the step 508, at a step 510 scheduled participants of the instanceof the social virtual dialysis clinic may interact and/or engage oneanother using their respective interface devices in order to facilitatea social virtual clinic environment shared by the participants while theparticipants are undergoing dialysis treatments controlled by theirrespective dialysis systems. The interaction may include text, pictureaudio and/or video exchanges among participants and may utilizeavailable social media platforms. The display for the interaction mayinclude one portion for the social interaction and another portion thatcontains information of the individual user's dialysis treatment therebyproviding an integrated social and medical treatment display that may beviewed by the user during the dialysis treatment. After the step 510,processing is concluded for the iteration of the method being described,noting that the interaction enabled by the social virtual dialysisclinic may continue until cessation of the social virtual dialysisclinic and that multiple iterations of the method for the social virtualdialysis clinic may be provided according to the system describedherein.

Various embodiments discussed herein may be combined with each other inappropriate combinations in connection with the system described herein.Additionally, in some instances, the order of steps in the flowdiagrams, flowcharts and/or described flow processing may be modified,where appropriate. Further, various aspects of the system describedherein may be implemented using software, hardware, a combination ofsoftware and hardware and/or other computer-implemented modules ordevices having the described features and performing the describedfunctions. The system may further include a display and/or othercomputer components for providing a suitable interface with a userand/or with other computers.

Software implementations of aspects of the system described herein mayinclude executable code that is stored in a computer-readable medium andexecuted by one or more processors. The computer-readable medium mayinclude volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory, and may include, forexample, a computer hard drive, ROM, RAM, flash memory, portablecomputer storage media such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, an SD card, a flashdrive or other drive with, for example, a universal serial bus (USB)interface, and/or any other appropriate tangible or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or computer memory on which executable code maybe stored and executed by a processor. The system described herein maybe used in connection with any appropriate operating system.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from a consideration of the specification or practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for performing medical treatments andsimulating social aspects of a medical clinic environment, comprising: amedical treatment machine configured to perform a medical treatment; amedical treatment information display that displays medical treatmentinformation of the medical treatment performed by the medical treatmentmachine; and a social interaction information display that displayssocial interaction information of multiple users, wherein the medicaltreatment information display and the social interaction informationdisplay are integrated into an interactive display device thatinterfaces with a remote computer to exchange information with theremote computer, wherein a characteristic of the medical treatment beingperformed by the medical treatment machine is transmitted to the remotecomputer and is used in scheduling multiple participants for remotesocial interaction using the interactive display device while themedical treatment machine performs the medical treatment.
 2. The deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the scheduling is performed automaticallyby the remote computer according to a commonality in the characteristicof the medical treatment among each of the multiple participants.
 3. Thedevice according to claim 1, wherein the interactive display devicewirelessly exchanges information directly with the remote computer. 4.The device according to claim 1, wherein the interactive display devicewirelessly exchanges information with the remote computer via anintermediary device.
 5. The device according to claim 4, wherein theintermediary device is a transceiver device of the medical treatmentmachine.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the interactivedisplay device is incorporated into the medical treatment machine. 7.The device according to claim 1, wherein the interactive display deviceis remote from the medical treatment machine.
 8. The device according toclaim 7, wherein the interactive display device is a portable processingdevice carried or worn by a user that displays information to the userand receives input from the user.
 9. The device according to claim 1,wherein the medical treatment machine is a dialysis machine.
 10. Thedevice according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the medicaltreatment includes a treatment type, a treatment length, a frequency oftreatment and/or a time of day of treatment.
 11. A social virtualdialysis clinic system, comprising: a first medical treatment machinethat is configured to perform a first medical treatment on a first user;a second medical treatment machine, remote from the first medicaltreatment machine, that is configured to perform a second medicaltreatment on a second user; a first medical treatment informationdisplay, coupled to the first medical treatment machine, that displaysmedical treatment information of the first medical treatment machine; afirst social interaction information display, coupled to the firstmedical treatment machine, that displays social interaction informationof the first user and the second user, wherein the first medicaltreatment information display and the first social interactioninformation display are integrated into a first interactive displaydevice that interfaces with a remote computer to exchange informationwith the remote computer; a second medical treatment informationdisplay, coupled to the second medical treatment machine, that displaysmedical treatment information of the second medical treatment machine;and a second social interaction information display, coupled to thesecond medical treatment machine, that displays social interactioninformation of the first user and the second user, wherein the secondmedical treatment information display and the second social interactioninformation display are integrated into a second interactive displaydevice that interfaces with the remote computer to exchange informationwith the remote computer.
 12. The system according to claim 11, whereina first characteristic of the first medical treatment being performed bythe first medical treatment machine is transmitted to the remotecomputer, and wherein a second characteristic of the second medicaltreatment being performed by the second medical treatment machine istransmitted to the remote computer, and wherein the first characteristicand the second characteristic are used in scheduling participants forremote social interaction using the first interactive display device andthe second interactive display device while the first and second medicaltreatment machines perform the first and second medical treatments. 13.The system according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the first orthe second interactive display devices wirelessly exchanges informationdirectly with the remote computer.
 14. The system according to claim 11,wherein at least one of the first or the second interactive displaydevices wirelessly exchanges information with the remote computer via anintermediary device.
 15. The system according to claim 14, wherein theintermediary device includes a transceiver device of at least one of themedical treatment machines.
 16. The system according to claim 11,wherein at least one of the first and the second interactive displaydevices is incorporated into a corresponding one of the first or thesecond medical treatment machines.
 17. The system according to claim 11,wherein at least one of the first or the second interactive displaydevices is remote from a corresponding one of at least one of the firstand the second medical treatment machines.
 18. The system according toclaim 17, wherein at least one of the first or the second interactivedisplay devices is a portable processing device carried or worn by auser that displays information to the user and receives input from theuser.
 19. The system according to claim 11, wherein at least one of thefirst or the second medical treatment machines is a dialysis machine.20. The system according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the firstcharacteristic or the second characteristic includes a treatment type, atreatment length, a frequency of treatment and/or a time of day oftreatment.